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PACK TRANSPORTATION 
FOR THE ARMY 



A LECTURE 

DELIVERED BEFORE THE OFFICERS OF THE 

QUARTERMASTER RESERVE CORPS AT 

WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 22, 1917 



Writ DALY 

Chief Packer, Quartermaster Corps 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1917 



Ti^^S 



D. of D. 
JUL 16 1917 



PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 



COL, brai>-aed's introduction. 

Gentlemen, you have a rare treat in store for you to-night. 
We liave in the United States a man who perhaps knows more 
about pack transportation tlian any other man in tlie world. 
He has had a unique career — a wonderful career — and I take 
pleasure in introducing to you Mr. W. H. Daly. 

LECTURE BY MR. W. H. DALY. 

Col. Brainard, I thank you for the kindly mention of this old 
man. 

Perhaps I may say that men grown gray, especially after 50 
years of their life with the Army, are prone to dwell in mem- 
ories of the past, and such kindly mention touches the heart of 
this old man. 
Officers of the Reserve Corps: 

No doubt you may wonder what I have to say that may in- 
terest you, and, inasmuch as I have sat with you young men 
and listened to lectures in this hall for your benefit, I may say 
with all kindly intent that you gentlemen have shown a close 
attention and lively appreciation of the various subjects per- 
taining to the ofiice and divergent branches of the Quartermaster 
Corps, and especially a kindly expression and sincere apprecia- 
tion of the continued presence and interesting remarks of the 
Quartermaster General, who, with kindly thought for your 
future efliciency, has brought to his aid officers of certain 
branches of the corps, as well as a selection of our visiting 
allied officers, to define and understand such duties as you may 
be called upon to perform, with credit to yourselves and an 
honor to the Quartermaster Corps. 

Before taking up the subject of pack transportation I wish to 
recall an incident or two of frontier days that, perhaps, may 
measure this old man. 

3 



4 PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 

In 1874 there lived in tlie Soutliwest a family by the name of 
Greer, who before the Civil War had emigrated from Arkansas 
to Texas, and in explaining the necessity for the move, remarked 
that the neighbors were getting too close for him, and "By 
golly," he would say, " they are crowding me out now." 

At this time his nearest neighbor was 25 miles east an-d 50 
west of his cattle ranch. During the year in question the in- 
coming settlers held a meeting to define a town site and named 
it Albany, as the county seat of Shackelford County, and in 
honor of the oldest resident, elected the old man sheriff. 

The old man, by the way, had formed a habit of swearing, but 
with harmless intent. 

When he arrived home from the meeting, he stood in the door- 
way and remarked to his wife, who was tall and bony and large 
of frame, " Old woman, what in the h — 1 do you reckon them 
thar folks want to do with me, down thar?" 

" Why, old man, I declar I just don't know." 

" Well, I'll be gol darned if they don't want to elect me 
sheriff down thar." 

" Why, old man, you ain't go no larning." 

" I don't give a gol darn, I reckon I've got as much sense as 
them that have larning." 

Now, I do not wish to assume that I measure up to the old 
man's standard. 

But the following incident that I happened to witness is, as 
we say out West, more to the purpose. While traveling by 
stage between the posts of Forts GrifRn and Concho, Tex., a 
distance of about 150 miles, the stage and passengers stopped 
over night at the old man's ranch. 

During the evening the youngest son, Tom, of whom the 
mother was especially fond, had formed a habit of making house 
pets out of young wild cats, and sallied out, shotgun in hand, 
to kill a few quail for supper. Near by, he discovered a wild 
cat up a tree. Tom blazed away and wounded the cat, and 
wishing to secure the animal alive, climbed the tree and in 
reaching for the cat it made a pass at his face. Tom let go 
his hold on the tree and fell to the ground. 

The mother, hearing the shot, stepped to the door and wit- 
nessing the fall of her boy, called to the old man, who was 
sitting by a good old-fashioned log fire, saying : 

" Old man, Tom has fallen outen that tree out thar." 

" I don't give a gol darn, I reckon the dom fool will larn." 

*' Old man, Tom isn't a rising yet." 



PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 5 

" I don't care a dom, I reckon he'll rise when Gabriel blows 
his horn." 

"'Why, old man, you just oughten to talk thataway. Well, 
now, I'll just declar, if Tom ain't a climbing that tree out thar 
again." 

" Old woman, come in outen that door. Thar ain't cats enough 
out thar to kill Tom." 

So that, like Tom, it may be said there wasn't " cats enough 
out thar " to kill this old man. 

Gentlemen, in order to keep the memory of past events within 
due bounds, I will give you a slight resume of the travels of a 
packer with the old Army, and, by the way, that was not a 
picnic, nor yet do I mean that this old man needs the aid of 
an iron band to keep his head from bursting, but simply as an 
illustration of the travels of the Old Guard that for 30 years 
following the Civil War fought the Indian and the outlaw. 

In my travels as a packer with the old Army I may say that 
I have been to the headwaters of the Missouri and Columbia 
Rivers, in what may truthfully be called the crown of land as well 
as the roughest section of the Continental Divide or Rocky Moun- 
tains, and from the Gulf of Mexico or the mouth of the Rio 
Grande to its headwaters in the San Juan Mountains of Colo- 
rado, and with a pack train I have crossed and recrossed the 
Rocky INIountains from British Columbia to Mexico, and the 
Sierra Madres from Sonora to Chihuahua, Mexico. I have 
crossed the Yuma and Mojave Deserts, the famous Death Valley, 
and Soda Lake, the Santa Fe and Oregon trails, and the Grand 
Canyon of the Colorado, and in later years, Cuba, the Philip- 
pine Islands, and the Canal Zone. 

During the first 30 years of my service as a packer with the 
old Army, I have been three days and three nights without 
water and four days without anything to eat. I have eaten 
horse and mule meat when about all that covered the bones 
was the hide, as well as dog and rat meat. 

I have slept in the open with three blankets, when the 
thermometer failed to register how cold it was, and, by way 
of contrast, I have slept without covering in Sonora when it 
registered 100° at midnight, and I have met the Indian and the 
outlaw, and we had " some few " of these gents in the e^rly days. 
I guess I had better stop before I get into deep water. 

Apropos of water : In the years of 1880, 1881, and 1882, dur- 
ing the Victoria campaign against the Warm Spring Apaches, in 
southwest New Mexico, I have drunk of water from a gypsum 



6 PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 

pond, with a yellow scum that when a camp kettle of this water 
was boiled for coffee we had about 3 inches of coffee water and 
the remainder like mush, which could have been eaten with a 
spoon, and let me add, a sure kill or cure for any person 
troubled with the diarrhea. 

During the years from 1887 to 1890 I have drunk froih a 
spring at Cheyenne Pass, Wyo., whose banks were bordered 
by watercress and the waters biting cold and refreshing, that 
was declared to be unfit for drink. 

During the Garza campaign on the lower Rio Grande, Tex., 
1891 to 1894, G Troop of the old Third Horse, was encamped 
at a pool of water that sported a green scum, from the contribu- 
tions of cattle, sheep, and goats, with horns of a dead steer 
emerging from near the bank, and no ill effects were reported 
from its use. Col. Jessie McI. Carter, now with the Bureau of 
ivrilitary Affairs, will vouch for this statement. 

But I will not say so much for the waters of Cuba, the Philip- 
pines, and Canal Zone, where poisonous vegetation makes it 
injurious for the white man's use unless it is previously boiled. 

Gentlemen, I have before me a few short sketches of our 
Indian wars, as w'ell as a few items on pack transportation, 
tliat I trust may interest you and give you an idea of the serv- 
ice of a pack train as an adjunct to the mobility of mounted 
troops that before the advent of the railroads w^as the only 
means of rapid supply on our western frontier. 

SHORT SKETCHES OF OL'R INDIAN WARS. 

By way of introduction, I may mention that when a boy at 
the close of the Civil War, I first learned the art of throwing the 
Diamond hitch while employed as a packer in the mining camps 
of British Columbia and Idaho, and in the years following 1867 
I have been associated with the " Old Army " as a packer on 
our western frontier in numerous campaigns against the many 
tribes of Indians that roamed between the Missouri River and 
the Pacific Ocean, known in those days as the Great American 
Desert. 

Due to the achievements of that little army, in which the 
l>acker and the pack mule have borne their part, that vast ter- 
ritory is to-day organized into States and enjoying the fruits 
of civilization under the banner of Old Glory, and the sheltering 
Avings of the Great American Eagle. 



PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 7 

To give you gentlemen an idea of wliat was known as the 
American Desert, it may be stated that from St. Louis to Denver, 
a distance of about 900 miles as the crow flies, was then an open 
prairie without a fence, over which the buffalo roamed in 
countless thousands, as well as from Denver to California and 
the British line, when the only communication by mail was by 
" Pony " express and the Concord coach, when fathers and 
mothers, in wagons of the prairie-schooner type, crossed the 
Sante Fe and Oregon trails and braved the danger of desert 
Indians in search of homes for their children, and when rounded 
up by encircling Indians and seemingly when all hope was lost 
to hear the gladsome sound of the bugle and yell of the American 
cavalryman, that like the charge of the light brigade swept 
across the desert and prairie in a mad rush to their rescue. 

When in 1867 the old First Horse and Twenty-third Infantry, 
under Maj. Hunt and Gen. Crook, then a lieutenant colonel, 
fought the Bannocks and Shoshones in Idaho and Oregon. 

Where farther south the old Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth Horse, 
and Eleventh Infantry, under Cols. McKenzie, Hatch, Dividson, 
and Buell, fought the Kickapoos, Kiowas, and Comanches in 
Texas from the Staked Plains to within a few miles of San 
Antonio, where they waxed rich stealing horses and mules from 
the embryo settlements, and boldly attacked stage coaches, 
Government and citizen wagon trains, and burned the unfor- 
tunate teamsters and wagon masters at the wheels, whilst they 
danced around in hellish glee, firing arrows and throwing fire- 
brands at their heads and bodies, and drove the captured stock 
and unfortunate women and children to their camps on the 
Staked Plains. 

When Gen. Sherman, en route east from San Antonio, by way 
of Dodge City, Kans., where the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 
Railroad was building west in 1871, had a narrow escape in 
being waylaid or murdered by the Kiowas, under Satanta, 
Satank, and Adocette, as the day after his arrival at Fort 
Richardson or Jacksboro, Tex., they waylaid the Long Bros, 
wagon train while crossing Salt Creek prairie, killed five of 
the teamsters, and burned the eldest of the brothers at the 
wagon wheel, and drove the captured stock to the Fort Sill 
Reservation. 

And later in Arizona, where the old Third and Fifth Horse, 
and Twelfth and Twenty-third Infantries, fought the wild and 
blood-thirsty Apache Yumas, Mojaves, Pimas, and Tontos, who 



8 PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 

attacked emigrant travel in crossing the Yuma and Mojave 
Deserts, where many an unfortunate man left his bones to 
whiten the desert sands, as well as the famous Death Valley 
and Soda Lake. 

Days when the old refrain among the soldier boys went the 
rounds, " I'll eat when I'm hungry, and drink when I'm dry, 'and 
if the Apaches don't kill me, I'll live till I die." Days when at 
times the boys had to live on starved horse and mule meat and 
did not elevate the nose at dog and rat meat, when they trudged 
shoeless, over rocks and cactus, and ankle deep through mud, 
without the prospect of a supper, when embalmed beef of Spanish 
War fame would have been a Delmonico feast. Days when the 
boys were issued hard-tack that would knock a mule over a 
precipice ; when to prepare it for supper it was soaked in hot 
water and seasoned with salt pork that sported 6 inches of fat, 
with green whiskers on it, that for name on the troopers' menu 
card would best be written in hieroglyphics. 

Days when on the trail of the Apaches, with 120° in the sun 
and with swollen tongue, you screened the eyes to note in the far- 
off distance the appearance of water that proved to be a mirage, 
and were content to climb for water and dig for wood, and were 
finally subjugated by the American soldier. 

And again, farther north, where the old First, Second, Third, 
Fifth, and Seventh Horse, the Fourth, Fifth, Thirteenth, and 
Fourteenth Infantry, and officers of the Twenty-third Mounted 
Rifles, fought the warlike Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe in 
what is now the States of Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas, 
Where during the battle of the Rosebud Gen. Crook, with about 
1,200 men, fought over 5,000 of the allied tribes, and had all he 
could do to save the command from annihilation, and where, 
eight days later, they entrapped the unfortunate Custer on the 
banks and bluffs of the Little Big Horn River and wiped out 
five troops of his regiment, when Maj. Reno and Capts. Benteen 
and McDougal with seven companies, the latter officer in charge 
of the pack train and ammunition supply, lost many men in 
killed and wounded and narrowly escaped meeting the same fate, 
where two weeks later I, with others of Crook's command, 
viewed the battle field, the bodies of the dead horses marking the 
scene of the fight. 

And again on the meeting of Gen. Terry's command and sepa- 
ration at the confluence of the Tongue and Yellowstone, the 
memorable march of Crook's command from the head of Heart 
River to Deadwood City, when they lived on starved and worn- 



PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 9 

ont horse and mule meat and were pelted by rain for- 23 days, 
tramping barefooted through mud ankle deep, while following the 
trail of the escaping Sioux and Cheyenne, that led toward the 
mining camp of Deadwood City, where the citizens turned out 
and met them with a bunch of 50 fat beef cattle and commissary 
supplies in plenty, as well as grain and hay for the stock, and 
gave the command the freedom of the city, with firing of anvils 
in lieu of cannon, and I may add the boys done justice to the 
occasion. 

AVhen McKenzie, of the Fourth Horse, and other contingents 
of the service, in the gray dawn of November 25, 1876, rushed 
like an avalanche on the Cheyennes under Dull Knife on the 
banks of Willow Creek and almost annihilated the band, when 
to provide water for horse and man ice had to be cut 2 feet deep, 
and horses and mules perished, frozen at the picket line. 

And the following year the memorable Nez Perce campaign 
that was fought by the forces of Gens. Howard, Sturgis, Gibbon, 
and Miles, when Howard's command fought the Battle of the 
South Fork of the Clearwater. Idaho, July 11 and 12, and the 
escaping Nez Perces crossed the Bitter Root Range at Lolo 
Pass, and entered Montana Territory, and were met by the 
Seventh Infantry under Gen. Gibbon, who fought the Battle of 
the Big Hole Basin, where many men were killed and wounded, 
Gen. Gibbon among the latter, and I may add the father of the 
present Capt. C. P. Daly. August 9 and 10. 

Escaping from Gibbon's command, they crossed the Rocky 
Mountains at Lemhi Pass, and again entered Idaho Territory, 
and were met by troops of the First and Second Horse under 
Ma.i. Sanford and Capt. Norwood, and a fight ensued known as 
The fight of Camas Meadows. August 20 ; escaping from San- 
ford, they again crossed the Rockies at Henry Lake, and again 
entered Montana Territory, and crossing the Fire Hole, a branch 
of the Madison, they entered Yellowstone Park, Wyo. Thence 
striking the headwaters of Clarkes Fork of the Yellowstone, 
and down the latter, they were met by Sturgis with six troops 
of the Seventh Horse at the mouth of Canon Creek, on the oppo- 
site bank of the Yellowstone, and engaged the Nez Perces; es- 
caping from Sturgis on their route north for Canadian terri- 
tory, they crossed the Musselshell and striking the headwaters 
of the Judith-Missouri at Cow Island they crossed the latter, 
where they engaged a detachment of 12 men under Sergt. 
Molchert, who was guarding supplies for the troops • on the 

105184—17 2 



10 PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 

Yellowstone, and endeavoring to dislodge him from his en- 
trenchment they lost a day that was fatal to them, as Miles wa» 
hastening from his camp at the mouth of Tongue River to 
head them off, having with him the Fifth Infantry mounted 
and troops of the Second and Seventh Horse, and were over- 
taken at the Bear Paw Mountain and a battle ensued, resulting 
in their surrender to Gens. Howard and Miles, October 4, 1877. 

Gen. Howard in the closing portion of his letter (General 
Field Orders No. 3, Report of the Secretary of War, p. G13) 
says in part: 

From Kamiah (that is, from the southeast corner of the Nez 
Perces Reservation) to Henry Lake, at which point the Cavalry 
and Infantry arrived together, the command was marched con- 
tinuously, without a day's halt, 26 days, making an average of 
19.3 miles a day, baggage carried generally by pack trains, the 
Indian trail from Kamiah to the Bitter Root Valley being im- 
passable for wagons. 

The command suffered often for the want of shoes, overcoats, 
and underclothing during the march, and the difficulty of pro- 
curing supplies in Montana, etc. 

Again, under known interpretation of law, our campaign against 
hostile Indians is not recognized as war, yet, as it has been 
a severer tax upon the energies of officers and men than any 
period of the same length of our late Civil War, surely some 
method must be found to encourage and properly reward such 
gallantry and services, hardly ever excelled. 

Other campaigns against hostile tribes were the Mescalero 
and War Spring Apaches in New Mexico, 

The Chiricahua Apaches in Arizona, that extended into the 
States of Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico, known as the Geron- 
imo campaign, that lasted from May 17, 1885, to September 8, 
188G, under Gens. Crook and Miles, requiring all the available 
forces of the United States to wind up the trouble. 

The last campaign of note was at Pine Ridge, S. Dak., against 
the Brule and Ogallala Sioux in the winter of 1890 and 1891, 
conducted by Gens. John R. Brooke and Miles, that required 
the services of 45 troops of Cavalry, 54 companies of Infantry, 
Battery E of the First Field Artillery, and Light Battery F. 
Fourth Artillery, to settle that trouble. 

During this period Sitting Bull was killed at his village on 
Grand River, and Big Foot at Wounded Knee, in which many 
officers and men and Indians were killed and wounded, Decem- 
ber 29, 1890. 



PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 11 

It has been said by some writers that tlie Rocky Mountain 
men and not the American Army have taught the Indian respect 
for the firearms of the white man to defend himself, and while 
all meed of praise is due many of these brave and hardy men 
who in their search for beaver meadows sought the headwaters 
of the mighty Missouri and the Columbia, yet all they have left 
to civilization is their half-breed children and their vices; irk- 
some of restraint, their deeds were marked with a dare-devil 
courage and brutal savagery that vied with their red-skin 
brothers. 

At no time did the voice of nature appeal to him ; he removed 
himself far from civilization to enjoy the lounging ease of 
camp life and the lounging and license of Indian villages. 

Furtive in glance, on the approach of a white brother, the 
lids would narrow the vision, with the searching gaze of a 
venomous nature ; sparing in speech, whether in the open or in 
the tepee, he practiced the sign language, and vied with the 
Indians that adopted him in the length of his hair, and the 
nakedness of attire. 

In this condition he would return to the ragged edge of civili- 
sation, dispose of his pelts, and with the proceeds indulge in a 
brutal orgy in the dance halls and gambling dens, and when 
tleeced, was content to return to his squaw and his half-breed 
children. 

What a parody to claim that such men, and not the American 
Army, fought the Indian and the outlaw in the reclamation of 
the American desert, and I might truthfully add that to ade- 
quately portray the deeds of heroism, trials, hardships, and 
suffering of that little Army would require the pen of a Conan 
Doyle, a Jules Verne, or a Sienkewitz. 

PACK TRANSPORTATION. 

The inventive genius of man has developed the use of the 
wheel in its application to steam, gasoline, and electric power, 
and to facilitate travel by such means, we build railroads and 
roadways, but in mountainous sections not approachable for 
wheel transportation we employ the animal burden. 

This we term pack transportation, and by the average man 
outside of the Army is not well understood. No doubt you have 
seen pictures of camels in caravans, loaded with commerce, 
•crossing the plains and deserts of Asiatic countries, each animal 
attended by a caravaneer, and usually seated on top of the 
burden, directing the travel of the animal. 



12 PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 

In the United States, in lieu of the camel, we employ the 
burro and the mule, as best adapted to mountainous travel, and 
when in numbers, instead of using the word caravan, we employ 
the words pack train. 

As the burro in its travel, by natural instinct, follows in the 
step of its' fellow, the mule being a close relation has inherited 
this peculiar trait. 

Another peculiarity of the mule is its attachment for the dam 
or horse kind ; all animal nature has a fondness for the mother^ 
and the mule is no exception; the fact is, it shows an unusual 
degree of attachment and plays no favorites as to sex. Due 
to this fact man selects the horse, for obvious reasons, as best 
adapted to lead a train of pack mules. 

THE BELL HORSE. 

This animal, by preference, should be of medium height or 
pony built; that is, small in foot, short in step, and quick in 
action, indicating ability to climb a mountain side without un- 
due fatigue; to qualify this statement the ordinary horse of 
large conformation is large and flat in foot, a condition that 
endangers its life when leading a train of pack mules in moun- 
tainous country. 

The use of the bell, with strap around the neck of the horse, 
is to teach them that, when the horse may be out of sight, the 
sound of the bell indicates the horse is in the lead or near by 
and is content to follow ; for this reason a train during travel 
is kept in close order in the step of its mate, as once out of 
hearing they commence to bray, much like a child that has lost 
its mother. 

I can recall incidents of this character that were both amus- 
ing and almost human in the display of grief in search of their 
pet. 

PACK MULES. 

In the selection of pack mules it is important that this class 
of mule should be suitable for mountainous travel. This type 
of mule is described in section 128, Manual of Pack Transporta- 
tion, and as a guide to help in the selection. Section 129 is 
quoted as the class of mule that is undesirable for pack service. 

On the lines of conformation the packer has learned by ex- 
perience the type of mule that fails in climbing the rugged 
portions of the Continental Divide, and his critical eye pictures 



PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 13 

the flesh condition of that mule in the test of endurance after 
two or three months' eervice. 

It has often been said by packers or men that lack that 
loyalty and esprit de corps for the service, " Why should we 
care ; the Government is rich and the farmers in Missouri have 
mules to sell," forgetting the fact that the train may be a thou- 
sand miles or more from Missouri; that the officer in command 
is depending on the strength and service of the train to carry 
his supplies to enable him to accomplish his designs. 

So that it may be said the officer and pack master are bur- 
dened with two kinds of animals — the unserviceable mule and 
the undesirable packer. 

PACKSADDLES. 

There are to-day two classes of packsaddles in especial use, 
the crosstree and the aparejo. These are described in sections 
1 and 2 of the manual. A view of the packsaddle or crosstree 
is shown in figure 54, page 108. 

The first is a product of European countries, and, inasmuch 
as the saddle proper is made of wood, it is not a difficult prob- 
lem to secure suitable timber in the mountainous sections. In 
its make-up we may best explain its construction by stating 
that if we take the Cavalry saddle and remove the cantle and 
pommel and in lieu of these apply cross sections of wood shaped 
like the letter " X " and provide a breast strap and breeching 
we will have a better crosstree than can be purchased in the 
markets of to-day. Necessarily, to protect the animal from its 
burden, a saddle pad of suitable dimensions is employed to pro- 
tect the body of the animal from abrasions of its burden. 

In the case of the aparejo (see fig. 1, p. 14 of the Manual of 
Pack Transportation), this form of packsaddle is supposed to 
be of Arabian origin, where plains and deserts are more in evi- 
dence, and, roughly speaking, is composed of two rectangular sec- 
tions of leather, sewed all around and across the middle. This 
gives two panels for padding, and to enable the individual a 
hole is cut out in the center of each panel on the section that 
comes in contact with the body of the animal. 

In lieu of a breeching a broad band of leather supplies its 
place, termed the crupper, and in lieu of the breast strap a 
broad cincha is employed ; this encircles the aparejo and body 
of the animal so as to keep the saddle from slipping backward 
and the adjustment of the crupper from slipping forward. 



14 PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 

With this form of paclvsaddle animals have climbed and 
crossed the most rugged portions of the Continental Divide in 
the United States and Mexico. Its adoption by our Govern- 
ment is due to years of experience as the one best type, suited 
to carry all manner of supplies for troops in the field. 

The aparejo, however, has undergone a gi'adual evolutipn, 
and to-day, when made of suitable material, has no superior. 
(See sec. 130, p. 167.) Unfortunately, the grasping avarice of 
man for the dollar substitutes poor material, especially so for 
the Government, which is looked upon as the fatted sheep to 
fleece. 

EOPES, PACKS, AND CARGO. 

We have in pack-train service three classes of rope designated 
the lair, sling, and lash rope, and four classes of canvas, known 
as the pack cover, cargo, rigging, and feed covers, having 
special uses in the organization of a pack train. (See sec. 130, 
pars. 9-15, inclusive, pp. 175-176.) 

The word pack or bundle, as applied to pack transportation,, 
has reference to commercial packages, and such other articles 
needed by an army. 

These are made up into packages that we term packs, and any 
number of these, depending on weight, are carried by the pack 
mule. 

As the customary load for a pack mule is rated 250 pounds 
net, the load is ordinarily divided into two sections, termed side 
packs, having reference to the two sides of the animal. These 
packs, such as need it, are wrapped in a section of canvas that 
we term a pack cover, and to hold the cover securely it is 
wrapped with a section of rope known as the " lair " rope. 

The duty of the packer is to mate these packs according to 
kind as much as possible in loads of flour, sugar, coffee, beans, 
rice, bacon, canned goods, and ammunition, and such other packs 
or bundles ordinarily carried by a company or troop. 

To expedite the loading of a pack train these packs are ar- 
ranged in two parallel lines that we term the cargo. The first 
duty of the packer is to lay on the ground a line of coiled lash 
rope, leaving about 10 feet of the end extended; then another 
line of rope, the coils abutting against those in place with the 
ends extended, so that if the line of the cargo is north and 
south, the ends will be east and west. 

Preparatory to placing the loads on the respective lash rope, 
a sling rope is placed on the extended portion of each lash rope ; 



PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 15 

as the loads are placed in position the sling rope is placed on top 
of the load and the extended portion of the lash rope is coiled 
and placed on top of the sling rope and load. When the task is 
completed the cargo is formed and ready for loading the train. 
As the pack mules are lined "up at rigging and receive their 
respective aparejo, they are tied to the load assigned them by 
the caragador ; for this purpose the end of the lash rope is 
secured to the halter of the mule. 

This is an important duty, as the caragador must know the 
full strength of each mule and assign such loading as will not 
impair its service. 

HITCHES. 

The best known hitch that has ever been designed by man to 
secure a load on a pack animal is the diamond hitch. This is 
described in section 32 of the Manual, pages 61 to 90. 

If we take a section of rope and double it, and pull the two 
ropes apart at center, we form a diamond. In the formation 
of this hitch, the front and rear rope pulls these two ropes apart 
on top of the load, hence the name given to this form of hitch ; 
in applying this hitch to a loaded mule, the operation is per- 
formed by experts in 30 seconds, and has been done in less time. 

The operation of loading a pack train of 50 pack mules, from 
start to finish, ordinarily takes about 30 minutes, and has been 
done in less time. 

In this work many items must be considered. The fitting of 
the aparejos to the respective mules, the soundness of their 
bodies, the gentleness of the train, the selection of the camp 
ground, the arrangement of the rigging and cargo, and the disci- 
pline and expertness of a crew of packers. 

FORMATION OF CAMPS. 

Pack trains may practically be considered a field unit, and 
are usually in charge of an officer, who directs the pack master 
where to park the train ; in doing so it is important, when pos- 
sible, to avoid low and marshy ground, selecting the highest 
ground for the cargo, then the rigging, and picket line, and the 
mess kitchen as convenient to water as possible. 

When a full cargo of supplies is carried by the train, it is 
customary to divide the cargo in two sections, about 12 feet 
apart. As packers work in pairs, this gives opportunity for six 
pairs, or 12 packers, to be at work, with the pack master assist- 
ing where needed ; no man is idle in a pack train. 



16 PACK THANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 

The aparejo, or rigging, is usually placed in the form of a 
crescent or horseshoe formation, with the ends of the shoe 
facing the cargo, the latter about 10 paces from the line of 
rigging. 

If a picket line is used, it is stretched in rear of the line of 
rigging and about 10 paces therefrom. This keeps the pj^ck 
train in a close-order formation, and hastens the readiness of the 
train to leave camp at a specified time. 

CARRYING CAPACITY OF A PACK TRAIN. 

As the carrying strength of a pack mule is rated at 250 pounds 
net, a train of 50 pack mules will carry 12,500 pounds of sup- 
plies. 

The commissary of to-day supplies three kinds of rations, 
known as Nos. 1, 2, and 3. No. 1 is technically known as the 
haversack or short ration, and is computed at about 3 pounds 
per man, or 2.935 pounds. 

As Nos. 2 and 3 will average about 4 pounds per man, a train 
will carry rations for one day for 3,125 men, and, at 200 pounds 
per animal, supplies for 2,500 men. 

If we deduct 588 pounds, or one day's allowance of grain for 
64 mules and 1 horse, the train will carry rations for 2,978 men, 
and, at 200 pounds per animal, rations for 2,353 men. 

AMMUNITION SUPPLY. 

The service ammunition of to-day for the Springfield rifle, 
caliber .30, is issued by the Ordnance Department in hermeti- 
cally sealed steel cases, holding 1,200 rounds in bandoleer form, 
weighing 91i pounds; that is, 15 pounds to the case and 761 
pounds for the bandoleers and ammunition. 

Allowing a load of two cases to the mule, a weight of 183 
pounds, or 100 cases to the train, the train will supply the 
firing line with 120,000 rounds ; and with three cases to the 
mule, a load of 274^ pounds, the train will supply the firing line 
with 180,000 rounds of ammunition, and 10 trains engaged on 
this duty will supply 1,800,000 rounds to the firing line, and do 
so on the run at a rate of 6 miles to the hour. A much better 
mode of supply would be the use of panniers attached to the 
aparejo. These may be made of canvas or leather, the latter 
preferred as more enduring. Into the pockets, one on each 
side, the contents of four cases may be emptied, a supply of 
4,800 rounds to the mule or 240,000 rounds to the train, a gain 
of 120,000 rounds at two cases to the mule, or at three cases to 



PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 17 

the mule, a gain of 60,000 rounds to the train. As the system 
requires time in delivery in extracting the bandoleers, a more 
rapid supply may be employed by the aid of two boxes, hinged 
at the top and bottom, the top for filling and the bottom for 
delivering, as the contents would fall to the ground in the 
action of a quick-release device. 

These boxes may be carried without the aid of sling and lash 
rope, an important item when delivering ammunition in the 
zone of fire, especially if packers have the buck fever, when 
the balls are throwing dust about his feet. 

Not an agreeable sensation for a tenderfoot ; and as the 
mule, unlike the packer, has an inquisitive turn, the closer he 
approaches the firing line the better he likes it. So that it may 
be said it is up to the packer to face the music. 

SELECTION OF PACKEKS. 

This is explained in section 105 of the manual, as well as the 
qualifications of the skilled packer in the following section. 

Too much stress can not be placed on the selection of men as 
suitable for pack-train service. It should be remembered that 
pack trains are not organized for table-lands and roadways ; 
his work commences where the teamster and his wagon can not 
travel, climbing up and down mountains, crossing swamps, 
mountain torrents, and fallen timber, pelted by snow and rain 
while assisting a fallen mule, and with the assistance of a brother 
packer shoulder its load and pack it to some advantageous point 
and reload the animal and start him afresh on the trail of its 
mate is not a picnic and requires manhood of the best type, as 
well as the type of mule, the partner in his travels. 

It should be remembered that mules learn to know and recog- 
nize by sight and sense of smell each member of the pack train, 
and look to them for kind treatment and encouragement as well 
as assistance in crossing bad or dangerous places, so that it may 
be said the manhood of the personnel vouches for the service of 
the pack train. 

It does not take but a few minutes to line up a pack train, 
look at the equipment, and size up the personnel, and tell you 
what service to expect from the train. 

ORGANIZATION. 

The organization and equipment of a pack train is defined in 
section 87, page 148, of the manual. 



18 PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 

Primarily the word " organization " is a community of indi- 
viduals on any one enterprise, who through careful consideration 
of thought along certain lines define rules of action that lead 
to unity of purpose, conserves time, and eliminates waste. 

In applying these rules to any one enterprise or the units of 
an army, it must have a directing or governing head, who in 
turn must look to the chiefs of units to perfect the organization 
of their especial branch, so that from the combined units satis- 
factory results are obtained. 

I may be considered an expert to define certain rules to govern 
a pack train, but I would not consider that I was a factotum to 
define the duties of the oftice of the Quartermaster General. 

In other words, it may be taken as an axiom that no man is 
an expert outside of his special training, that must be obtained 
by years of practical experience. 

In the organization of a pack train the equipment is of the 
best material and workmanship, and men and animals are taught 
certain defined duties that tend toward the maintenance of 
■equipments, the care and sound condition of the animals' 
bodies, and discipline among the personnel to obtain satisfactory 
service. 

Naturally it would be false economy after an expenditure of 
thousands of dollars to submit the care of a pack train to an 
ignorant and disorganized personnel or a- personnel that may be 
antagonistic to the packmaster. 

In the days of the civilian packer the pack master could 
enforce and maintain discipline, as it was an easy matter to 
get rid of an undesirable, and while I have met a few such 
men, yet, as a body, they were always loyal and true to the 
service, and never forsook an oflicer in moments of peril when 
times w^ere more strenuous on our western border and the 
Philippines than they are to-day. 

In the Quartermaster Corps the great drawback in the 
service of the pack train has been in the selection of men, 
which should follow section 107, as well as the qualifications 
of the skilled packer in the following section, pages 154 and 
155 of the manual, and, I may add, in the compensation of the 
individual, that varies from .$18 to $45 a month, naturally each 
private to gain advance in salary is endeavoring to oust the 
pack master, and a $10 blind or 10 days in the guardhouse is 
not conducive to discipline. 



PACK TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ARMY. 19 

As an adequate compensation, the enlisted packer should be 
allowed $30 a month, with increase of $5 for each reenlistment, 
until $50 is attained, which should be the maximum for that 
grade, the cargador and blacksmith starting at $55, until $75 
is attained, and the sergeant pack master at $80, until $100 is 
reached, the maximum of each to be the highest for that grade. 

The cook to be of the same pay as the enlisted packer. Such 
provision would insure a high grade of personnel for the pack- 
train service. Naturally promotion should follow on the line 
of efficiency. 

A pack master that understands his duties and is competent 
to discharge them is a valuable man to the service, and Haves 
to the Government the unnecessary expenditure of hundreds of 
dollars. 

In 1910 I computed the expense of organizing one pack train 
at approximately $17,000, and, it may be said, it is not a good 
proposition to intrust valuable equipment and animals to the 
care of a shiftless and ignorant personnel. 

Possibly it may be considered that on the subject of supply 
the least to be considered is the animal burden. 

Armies of to-day do not fight in the open. Our English cou- 
sins in South Africa learned a lesson from the tactics of the 
Boers, who behind the shelter of a trench or bowlder shot down 
the officer like a snipe in a ditch, and the great war in Europe 
to-day is fought with artillery, machine-gun companies, and 
trench fighting — pick and shovel. 

And it may be said as an aid in the quick movement of a 
machine-gun company and supply of ammunition is the pack 
mule, and were its use and effectiveness known in the days of 
our Indian wars Custer may have saved one-half of his regiment 
from annihilation on the banks and bluffs of the Little Big 
Horn. 

Officers of the Reserve Corps, there is in this hall an American 
officer on whose shoulders in this great world war the burden 
of supply for our Army will have to be borne, as well as officers 
of the corps and you gentlemen as aids in his support in this 
great crisis. 

Gentlemen, I would kindly ask you to arise and join with me 
in giving three good old-fashioned American yells to Maj. Gen, 
Henry Granville Sharpe, Quartermaster General of the United 
States Army. 

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